This was a NYC Urban Sketchers event, in conjunction with a few other things going on at the NYBG. So what do I do? Go to the garden and don’t sketch any of the flowers! Instead, I noticed live music, and I was socked in. This quartet had a mix of genuine classical and pop-reformulated for SQ, which was a nice blend. There was so much I didn’t recognize, or did but couldn’t place, but alas, no set list.

Because uptown isn’t sufficiently alt-; there’s a feeder program from Rockwell Music Hall so that the uptown crowd doesn’t have to descend into the hurly-burly (I’m projecting here, having never been to Rockwell). Four musical acts performing a sampler of three tunes each – hardly enough time to do sketch justice to the ensembles, but I like the challenge of the impossible. Opener McFerrin is yes, daughter of famed Bobby (and likewise performs barefoot). This was a powerhouse “solo” a capella presentation, using a voice-looping gizmo (I’m not up on all the latest) to build a chorus of her lovely pipes. Next was the trio House of Waters featuring a hammered dulcimer jam session. Third was solo John Fullbright, and the closer was Elizabeth & the Catapult (sorry drummer, no time left for you) with some nice evanescent tunes of sophisticated compositional complexity folded into a pop sensibility.

I had no clue how to title this post – “Japanese Music” seemed too crass. So I named it for the musical instruments. What an intriguing presentation – the fruit of the Otozawa Project, dedicated to promoting traditional Japanese music, disseminated by “cultural envoys”. And while the instruments and garb were surely traditional, it seemed that many of the pieces were relatively recent – some from the second half of the 20th century. There were a lot of contemplative spaces and dynamics to appreciate in the selections, as Honjoh and Obama took turns applying their own personal touches in solo pieces and duets. The shamisen (strings made of silk!) is played with what has to be the world’s biggest guitar pick.

This is a family affair, and a royal jazz family to boot. Arturo is already the second generation of O’Farrill players, and he’s brought along two sons into the business. Yes, this music has got a Cuban soul (and some requisite percussion), but it is not at all clichéd, and to me is primarily jazz for improvisation; I would be surprised if these players knew exactly where things were going at the start of each piece – a number of which are original compositions. But they sure went places! Hardly anything is as gratifying as when an old master at peak (in this case Arturo) provides a safe place for the next generation to flourish, and I detect no nepotism drawback in this case. It’s an honor to witness the torch-passing, not that Arturo’s going away any time soon.

These two mainstays of NYC’s jazz scene have a long collaborative history (including work on David Bowie’s final album), though the duo format has not been the main thrust. Nice chemistry and listening to each other while improvising. Sometimes the lights stay on in the Cole Auditorium (and I can work in color, even watercolors), sometimes not. On this day it was “not”, all I could see in front of my face was Sharpie, so I went with that as plan C!

This was a hodgepodge that worked really well. Basically, percussionist Jain invited his various musical friends (and that’s quite a diverse assemblage of musical friends!) to come perform with him in various configurations. So, there was a rotating cadre of personnel on stage, making it difficult for me to anticipate how long each would be available and how to allocate finite sketch time. So be it. Part of the evening’s theme was the metaphor of cooking, which got quite literal as samples of Jain’s culinary skills were passed out amongst the audience. Much as I would have like to nosh in this manner, it was too much to manage while frantically trying to focus within my chrono-calculating frenzy.